april and may 2017 - st john's church magazine.pdf · for the celebration of the death and...
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April and May 2017
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The Revd Markus Dünzkofer Rector 07962 536817 or 225 5004
[email protected] Day off usually Friday
The Revd Dr Stephen Holmes Associate Rector 07584 091870
[email protected] Day off usually Monday
The Revd Donna Cooper Assistant Curate 229 7565
The Revd Professor Kenneth Boyd Team Priest 225 6485
The Revd Clephane Hume Team Priest 667 2996
The Revd Sarah Kilbey MBE Team Priest 447 2378
The Revd Eileen Thompson Team Priest 315 4928
St John’s Ministry Team
In this Issue From the Rector
Cornerstone Centre
A Tour of the Building Works
Archaeological Finds
The Green Ginger Group
Together News
On the streets in Edinburgh, winter
2016/17
Workplace chaplain
Marmalade mayhem and Christian Aid
Ministerial student placements
Heartbeat: News of our members
Sue Goode retires
Welcome to the new Dean
Memorial Wall
Sponsored hikes
Jonathan Stevenson
Easter Service Times
Redhall Walled Garden
Window Panels in the Dormitory
A personal journey
Cornerstone Bookshop Reviews
Forthcoming Events
Service with a Smile
Coffee Rota
Sunday Readings
The next copy date is 7th May.
Cover image: fresco from Cappadocia.
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Markus Dünzkofer
From the Rector
Dear friends,
Lent. Lent? Lent!
It is this time again, when we prepare
for the celebration of the death and
resurrection of our Lord. There is much to
think about and to contemplate. The death
of the Saviour remains as much a scandal
as when it was proclaimed.
So, is there really anything to
celebrate? Yes, there is.
And, no, this is not an invitation to
race to Easter with a quick and distant
glance at Holy Week, Maundy Thursday,
and Good Friday. The Easter glory can only
come if we do not bypass Good Friday.
Neither do I want to singularly focus on
the reality of the atonement, as much as I
do believe that the cross has this salvific
property. Sometimes I wish we would
listen less sceptically to our sisters and
brothers in the church, who can celebrate,
really celebrate this central aspect of our
faith. Why? Well, remember the words of
John Donne (1573 –1631):
I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun My last thread, I shall perish on the shore; But
swear by Thyself, that at my death Thy Son
Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore; And having done that, Thou hast done; I fear no more.
But that’s maybe for another day to
explore more fully.
What I would like to focus on in this
wee article is the physicality of the cross –
and celebrate it.
It is not too difficult to celebrate the
Incarnation, God coming into flesh, when
it has to do with a wee baby in a stable
nursed at a woman’s breast. Maybe this is
one reason I prefer Advent over Lent (in
fact the former is my most favourite, the
latter my least favourite church season!):
sentimentality often is the grease that oils
our human experience and there is
nothing more sentimental than a birth, all
the while angels sing and shepherds come
adoring. Nothing speaks more of God’s
love becoming real among us in our flesh.
But the death of a 33 year old, too
young, too untimely, despised and rejected
by religious and political authorities, while
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his friends and each and every one of us
turns his or her back on him, is not a
positive image of God’s love coming
among us. How on earth could one
celebrate it?
I believe the Incarnation only makes
sense if God goes all the way and does not
excuse Himself when the going gets tough.
God is born of our sister Mary. In Jesus
God teaches, preaches, heals, casts out our
demons, and restores the marginalised to
their rightful place at the table as much as
God sleeps, drinks, eats, laughs, cries,
dances, and enjoys a good joke. And then
God dies a human death, all by himself. Just
like you and me; just like in our being born,
in our living, and in our dying. All of life, all
of it is part of the human experience. It is
also now all part of the divine experience.
It all matters to us. It all matters to God.
It matters how we are born. It matters
how we live. It matters how we die.
It matters how we treat children and
mothers. It matters how we look out for
the vulnerable and rejected. It matters
how we interact with the powerful and
mighty. It matters how we secure a liveable
planet for our children and children’s
children. It matters how we care for the
sick and the suffering. It matters how we
embrace the grieving and the dying. It
matters how we die in anticipation of
meeting the One, who loved us into being.
It also matters how we rejoice in
living, as we dance, sing, and make waves. It
matters how we delight in those gifted to
us as companions on the journey, even
when they really annoy us or have hurt us.
It matters how we celebrate life in all its
beauty and depth, as much as in its
darkness and finiteness.
This is what Lent is about, too.
It is from this insight that we here at
St John’s continue to seek to make the
experience of Lent not just a necessary
chore, but a celebration and an expansion
of our spiritual horizons. Using water this
year not only returns us to the font, where
we promised “[to] continue in the Apostles'
teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of
bread and in the prayers, [to] proclaim the
good news by word and deed, serving Christ in
all people, [and to] work for justice and peace,
honouring God in all Creation” (Scottish
Baptism liturgy), but water, as life’s most
basic element, reminds us that life matters,
all of life: from birth to death – and even
beyond death.
I invite you, once again, to a holy Lent.
And let’s celebrate it and splash
around a bit, too.
Yours as ever,
Markus
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Cornerstone Centre A Tour of the Building Works At noon on Wednesday 15th
February a group of seven of us gathered
to tour the Cornerstone Centre
development site. We were taken to the
Site Manager’s office (previously the
Rector's office, in the basement) and given
hard hats and High-Visibility jackets, then
Davey, the Site Manager for John
Dennis, gave us a most informative and
interesting tour.
The tour started by going through
from the basement corridor into what is
being made into the toilets for the shop
unit staff. In this area there were two large
round stone apertures in the wall,
previously not known about, that had been
revealed. The purpose of them was
uncertain and the plan is to cover them up
once more. We then moved on into the
area that had housed the shop and cafe
units; now cleared from one end to the
other. The clearance work has revealed a
number of burial lairs, the details of all of
which have now been carefully recorded
by the archaeologists. In particular
some remains have had to be removed
and re-interred in the area that has been
excavated for the new lift shaft.
We noticed that the work was going
on around us in a quiet and respectful
manner and noted a number of signs
reminding the site team that this is a place
of worship and requesting 'no foul
language'.
We then moved up from the
basement area to the terrace where we
entered the Hall to see how enormous it
looked now that it had been cleared of the
end wall, side walls, cupboards and floor,
along with the previous kitchen and toilet.
The ornate door from the East end has
been moved, and has now replaced the
more plain door that once stood at the
West end. A new door has been formed
from the Hall to the Dormitory garden.
Although the Archaeological Report
has resulted in a delay of 2-3 weeks, the
work is basically on track, according to the
project plan, and despite this slippage we
were assured that the main areas should
be completed and commissioned in time
to host the Just Festival this year; other
office areas will follow in due course.
Many thanks go to Kerrigan for organising
the tour and to Davey for conducting it.
Barbara Graham
Photo by Marjory Currie: Theo, Fred, Bishop
John tour the building works
If you would like a tour of the development
building works, please get in touch with the
church office. Tours are generally conducted
on Wednesdays at noon and last around 45
minutes.
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Archaeological Finds Addyman Archaeology is a commercial
archaeological contractor providing services
and advice on archaeological issues arising
from development work. Their report on the St
John’s Cornerstone Centre site is not yet
complete, but here is their interim report.
The Paterson monument contained
an inscription to 6 members of the family
as follows:
‘This monumental tablet, raised under
her own direction by the executors of Mrs
Jessie Pape, of Coatbridge, marks the spot
where in humble hope of a joyful resurrection,
rest her remains and the remains of those
recorded in this stone who were dear to her in
life and death’
Robert Paterson of Coatbridge her
father d 18 Sep 1826, aged 74
Marion Lindsay, his widow d 24 May 1844,
aged 64
Andrew Paterson, their son, d 11 Aug
1844, aged 35
John Paterson, their son, d 11 Oct 1844,
aged 45
Jessie Paterson, their daughter, d 30 April
1864
George Pape, her husband, collector of
Inland Revenue, Dublin, d 24 Oct 1854
‘These all died in faith’
Both Jessie and her husband were
buried in lead-lined coffins and were
reinterred in them. Of the three excavated
remains within the lair, the first buried (at
the N end) was thought to be Robert,
though it was not possible to age the
skeleton. He had a gold bridge on his
teeth. The second (placed directly above)
was a female over 60, probably Marion. In
the centre was a male, 45-50 years,
thought to be John. Andrew was next to
him, the skeleton was not required to be
excavated as it would not be disturbed by
the lift shaft. The coffin of Jessie was above
John and that of George above Andrew. All
were reinterred within the same burial lair,
with marked stones accompanying the
remains.
Once the report has been completed
we will be able to pass you a more
detailed summary of the excavations with
images for your newsletter. I have attached
an image of some of the coffin furniture
and one of the lead coffins in situ.
Liz Jones, Addyman Archaeology
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If you have been inside the church
since March 8th you should have seen a
river of blue paper starting to flow from
the font. We intend that it will eventually
flood the whole building. This does depend
on you. There will be sheets of blue paper
available. Sometimes their display will be
incorporated into the liturgy. You are
warmly invited to take one home and
decorate it with words or pictures or
both. You might quote from another, write
your own, collage, use colour or black. You
might reflect cleanliness, pollution, baptism,
drought, flood, pond-life – anything related
to water. I expect you will think of other
things, better than these. Then take
another sheet of paper. By the time we
reach Harvest Festival the display should
be breath-taking. What is more important,
we will all have thought and learned a huge
amount about water; and we will have
involved at some level every visitor who
comes through the door.
At the Creationtide Fair last year we
initiated a new postcard campaign. There
are still a few cards left, and sheets of
addresses, with suggestions of what to say.
They are on the shelf opposite the
Children's Corner. Do please send one or
two.
Many of us lack the space or the
energy to plant a tree ourselves. But we
can still do it by donating to Trees For Life.
There is a St John's Memorial Grove. An
easy way to do this is:
1. Go to treesforlife.org.uk on Google
2. Click on the Trees For Life page
3. Click on Plant a Tree
4. Click on Find an Existing Grove
5. Click on Memorial
6. Scroll down to June 2016
7. Click on Church of St John the
Evangelist
8. Click on Add Trees to this Grove
I am delighted to report that we have
so far planted 68 trees. Can we make it
100 before the end of Lent?
George Harris
The Green Ginger Group
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On the streets in Edinburgh, winter 2016/17 The congregation responded
magnificently to our appeal for funds to
help with the various initiatives for
homeless people in our city, and as I write
has raised £1,276.36.
This is a massive contribution to the
Together efforts, and immensely
appreciated this winter, which has again
seen more people than ever on the
streets. The overnight Care Shelter has
regularly had to turn away people from a
bed overnight since there was simply not
room. The result of this has been that
night after night long queues develop
outside the venue of the night, anxious not
to be amongst those turned away. This
queue tends to start forming about 3
hours before the scheduled opening,
which on a bad night can be an ordeal. It is
an index of how important the security
and warmth of the Shelter is to those who
have no home, and also the hot meals
cooked by teams from the city’s churches.
The Bethany Trust deserves the thanks of
the city for the devoted efforts of their
overnight teams (so well supported by the
city’s churches), and for the colossal
financial burden it takes on in running the
Shelter for six months every winter.
Just before the time of writing a
cheerful and dedicated St John’s team
cooked and welcomed for the Shelter in
the hall of Barclay Viewforth church.
While some of the stories of those who
came were heartbreaking, many were
impressively positive and stoical. As they
enjoyed supper cooked by our brilliant
cooks, for example, a Lithuanian was to be
seen using the chance to teach another
incomer from abroad to write English.
These are not a different species, but
people like us whose life has been
suddenly (and, let us always hope,
temporarily) de-railed by a sudden blow
or the force of circumstance.
Your donations will be a great
support to this community.
Robert Philp
New workplace chaplain Andy Gregg will be our next Edinburgh City Centre Workplace Chaplain. Originally from
Northern Ireland, Andy is currently a Workplace Chaplain in Inverness as well as Training
and Vocation Director at Workplace Chaplaincy. He is starting in April, so there will be
more news of Andy in our next issue.
www.linkedin.com/in/andrewgregg
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Marmalade Mayhem and Christian Aid “What if no-one has had time to
make any marmalade?” I thought anxiously,
as we approached St John’s that Sunday
morning, armed only with my own
contribution, a packet of price stickers,
some poly bags for the scones, and a tin
for the money. No problem! Some jars
had beaten me there, and more and more
flooded in, along with lemon curd, chutney,
a honeycomb homemade by bees, and a
large and delicious range of home baking.
Before the service, the Choir exercised
“droit de chanteur” and started buying
while Grace and I were frantically pricing,
and as they processed out at the end, the
congregation rose and descended upon us.
Mayhem for 20 minutes…were they
buying marmalade to spread on the
gingerbread, or chocolate treats to binge
on before Lent? We didn’t have time to
ask, but the groaning tables were cleared,
and we had raised £300 for Christian Aid.
Meanwhile in Bangladesh, Morsheda
is about to lose her home, a corrugated
iron hut, to the flooding Brahmaputra
River, again. Last time she and her children
escaped on a makeshift banana tree raft,
with her youngest floating in a cooking
bowl. How will she manage next time? The
char (small islet), on which her community
ekes out a precarious living, is vulnerable
to the ebb and flow of the river, whose
floods destroy homes and livestock and
livelihoods. Feroza’s situation was much
the same until Christian Aid’s partner in
Bangladesh, GUK, was able to give her a
Christian Aid Home Safety Package,
enabling her to raise her home above the
floods, and use the seeds and livestock and
agricultural training, and make a livelihood
for herself and her children. It cost £250.
Now Christian Aid can do the same for
Morsheda. Thank you St John’s!
There are women in Bolivia thanking
Christian Aid for solar ovens, saving local
trees and hours of their time, small
farmers in Africa grateful for mobile
phones with which they can check
weather forecasts and save precious
harvests from approaching storms;
earthquake survivors in Nepal thankful
not only for blankets, food and help with
fixing broken water supplies, but also for
training in how to build earthquake-
resistant homes.
The refugee crisis in Europe
inevitably reminds us that Christian Aid
was founded in response to the refugee
crisis after World War 2, and today is
working with and for the refugees in
Nigeria, where over a million have fled
from Boko Haram. In Afghanistan the
‘returnees’ forced to return by Pakistan’s
changed policy, are desperate for food,
water and shelter. The plight of refugees
coming to and moving across Europe has
been well documented on our TV news.
Refugees need not only blankets, tents,
food, sleeping bags and showers, fresh
shoes and clothes, mobile phones and
charging points for them, but respect for
their humanity, and healing for the horrors
they have experienced.
So what can we do? It may seem
little, but it’s very important that we do it,
and it does make a difference. A
marmalade mayhem can challenge the
chaos of the flood for Morsheda, a
Churches Together Quiz Night can
provide a refrigerator for a community
kitchen in a refugee camp. Donations and
volunteer help for the May and October
Book and Picture Sales at St Andrew’s and
St George’s West can help to raise the
£100,000 which enables Christian Aid to
continue its work helping our fellow
human beings to know and enjoy Life
Before Death. It’s a privilege for which we
can be thankful.
Marion Ralls
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Ministerial student placement with the Together Churches From March through to May the
Together Churches welcome seven first
year ordination students from the Scottish
Episcopal Institute to a three-month
placement as part of their training. Each of
them is attending Sunday worship in the
churches on a number of occasions, as
well as other meetings and events. Unlike
some placements, this will not be one
where students are exercising a role in the
churches; the purpose is observation of all
that goes on within the shared ministry
and mission of the three churches. They
are also spending time shadowing some of
the workplace chaplains in Edinburgh,
learning how this form of ministry
expresses the churches’ concern for
people in their working lives.
The seven students, one man and six
women, are very diverse in background
and experience. Six are Episcopalians and
one is a United Reformed Church student.
Two are in fulltime employment; two are
fulltime students at New College; one
student has a toddler and lives in East
Lothian; another student lives in West
Lothian. Their times with us have to fit in
with work and study, including residential
weekends. We will, I hope, have an
opportunity to meet each of them over
these three months and, when we do,
share with them something of what our
faith and membership of the Together
Churches means to us.
Do speak with me if you’d like to
know more, as I am the link person for
them, enabling them to make the
necessary arrangements for their
observations.
Tony Bryer
Sue Goode retires Sue Goode retires as Postal Secretary of Cornerstone Magazine. Many thanks, Sue, for
seven years’ work. We are happy to welcome Rosemary Denny to the Cornerstone team.
Frances Burberry: welcome to the new Dean
As you probably know, our very own Frances Burberry has been appointed dean of our
diocese by Bishop John. She was officially installed on Sunday 5 March at the 3.30pm
Cathedral Evensong (Palmerston Place).
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Additions to our memorial wall The names of Michael Usher and Patrick Watson have now been engraved on the
memorial wall in the Dormitory.
Nils’ sponsored hikes Nils Schoefer is doing sponsored walks in the Pentlands to raise funds for a research
project in Transylvania, studying the differences in biodiversity between traditional and
industrial farming methods. He would much appreciate support, even small amounts, and
may be contacted at [email protected]. He is happy to answer any questions on the
work.
Jonathan Stephenson One of our former vergers, Jonathan Stephenson, died recently. We pray for his widow,
Yvonne, and that he may rest in peace and rise in glory.
Easter Service Times Maundy Thursday, 13 April, 7:30pm
Holy Eucharist with Washing of Feet & Stripping
of the Altar
Good Friday, 14 April, 12noon-3pm
The Three Great Hours – Praying &
Contemplating Jesus’ Last Words
Good Friday, 14 April, 7:30pm
Musical Meditation for Good Friday
Easter Sunday, 16 April, 7.30am
TOGETHER Churches Easter Celebration (no
8am service at St John’s!)
Easter Sunday, 16 April, 9:30am
Festival Matins
Easter Sunday, 16 April, 10:30am & 6pm
Holy Eucharist in Celebration of the Feast of the
Resurrection
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In 2006, these panels were
commissioned by St John’s Church from
Redhall Walled Garden for Mental Health
Awareness Week. The theme chosen was
“Seasons of Change”, representing the
possibility of change in mental health. The
panels were painted by a team of eight
trainees, led by Anne Denniss (a former
art teacher and Redhall trainee) and Micah
Barrett (a former instructor at Redhall).
Working in a team outdoors engendered a
great deal of excitement and revealed
many hidden talents. These panels were
originally made to fit the false windows in
the north-east wall of the church, and they
are now being reinstated there after 10
years at Redhall.
Redhall is a SAMH (Scottish
Association for Mental Health) service
delivered in a beautiful 18th century
walled garden nestling in the heart of
Colinton Dell. Redhall uses a therapeutic
horticultural approach to enable people
recovering from mental health problems
to develop self-management, improve their
health and well-being, and actively engage
in employability, volunteering and
educational opportunities.
If you would like to find out more
about how Redhall works, you would be
welcome to come and spend a morning
there on the first Wednesday of each
month. This includes a tour of the garden
and a question and answer session; please
phone to book a place.
Adult Edinburgh residents (aged 18-
65) with a mental health problem, who
wish to use this service and can commit to
3 days per week minimum, should
telephone 0131 443 0946 for an
appointment, or go to:
www.samh.org.uk.
The gardens are also open to the
public, Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm, at
97 Lanark Road, EH14 2LZ (44 bus route
from city centre), where plants and wood
chip can be purchased. There are also
Saturday afternoon Open Days on 15th
April, 20th May, 8th July and 16th
December 2017.
Special Feature — Redhall Walled Garden
Painted Panels for the Dormitory
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Redhall is an
amazing place; never
in my wildest dreams
could I have imagined
a garden where I
could safely work
and be supported to
care for three family
members towards
the end of their lives. I was fortunate to
discover Redhall through two friends who
had worked there.
The reality for many people with
mental health problems, myself included, is
medication, outpatient clinics and periods
of hospitalisation. One in four people
experience mental health problems at
some point in their lifetime. When I
started at Redhall, I had been prescribed
antidepressants, which, I realised in
retrospect, caused violent mood-swings.
This medication was later withdrawn, and
my moods became more stable.
At my initial interview, my then Team
Leader looked at me shrewdly and said,
“Redhall is what you make of it” – words
that I’ve never forgotten. In retrospect, this
was to be the start of a long journey, a
journey of recovery – one I think I will be
on for the rest of my life.
On my first morning, I was surprised
to find a young instructor weeding beside
me; I learned later that this happened for
all new trainees. A bond developed
between us over the ensuing weeks and
months. One of the special features of
Redhall is talking and listening – if I had a
problem I would go to her.
Redhall seemed like an ordinary
garden on the surface; I had no idea that
this was a therapeutic service run by
SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental
Health). It was some weeks before I
realised that Redhall had a different
purpose, and that the real work was going
on beneath the surface.
On a particularly bad day one of the
trainees took me to my Team Leader and
we had what was to be a crucial talk about
the real nature of the garden and its
purpose. Redhall holds the hope for
people when they have none, until they
can begin to see a way forward for
themselves, learning appropriate skills and
developing resilience and trust. It is a place
of acceptance – where there is no stigma
around mental health problems.
This reflects my own experience: I
could work in the garden – weeding,
pruning, painting and arranging flowers – in
between travelling to my relatives and
coming back to start to recover. The core
of the ethos of Redhall is the commitment
and compassion of staff and trainees.
Everybody was safe there apart from the
rabbits, who had to beware of our tea-
drinking cat, Gingernut!
Redhall Walled Garden — a personal journey
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My first two years at Redhall had
passed in a daze; I was overwhelmed by
grief and loss. Throughout my time as a
trainee, Redhall provided me with the
stability and support that I needed to care
for myself. Looking back, I’m so glad that I
was enabled to help look after my brother,
father and uncle until the last hours of
their lives. That was such a special
privilege.
Trainee days over, I became an Art
Volunteer for Redhall. I began by
decorating our training room for a special
visit at Halloween from Sir Chris Hoy
(Olympic gold cyclist and Ambassador for
SAMH). I also started my own small
business printing cards from my artwork,
to raise funds for Redhall trainees and
other charities.
Although my health had seemed to
improve over the years, something never
felt quite right. I’d had a complex and
challenging childhood, but until recently I
had not connected this with my mental
health. Over the past three years, I have
experienced increasing anxiety and panic
attacks. NHS trauma counselling didn’t get
to the root of the problem, and eventually
I was assessed for EMDR therapy (Eye
Movement Desensitisation and
Reprocessing).
This therapy, though tough and
exhausting at times, has led to a marked
and ongoing improvement to both my
physical and mental health. In particular, my
confidence and self-esteem are beginning
to improve. I am now more aware of the
links between present events and past
traumas. This helps me to make sense of
what is happening, and to cope better in
the ‘here and now’.
At the same time, a new psychiatrist
queried my original diagnosis of 20 years
ago, and suggested that my symptoms
were more consistent with post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD). I experienced a
range of emotions on being told this:
disbelief, anger, and finally relief.
Coming to Redhall was indeed the
start of a long journey – a journey of
recovery that is still ongoing.
Anne Denniss, Redhall
Our tea-drinking cat
With Sir Chris Hoy
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Cornerstone Bookshop Reviews ‘Apostle - Travel Among the Tombs of
the Twelve’
By Tom Bissell
9780571234752
£9.99
In writing what is a compelling
account of the earliest friends of Jesus,
Tom Bissell embarked on a journey that
would take him three years and through
nine countries to some of their supposed
‘resting places’. Part travelogue, part
‘biography’, part ‘history’, Bissell asks who
these men might have been, seeking to give
them personalities by examining how their
identities took shape over the course of
two thousand years. Peppered with
anecdotes and travellers' tales from those
scholars and pilgrims he met on his way,
the scholarly depth he shows is lightened
to make this a fascinating, readable
exploration for believer and skeptic alike.
‘God Curious
By Stephen Cherry
9781785921995
£8.99
This latest offering from Stephen
Cherry (Dean of King’s College,
Cambridge) was written with those who
might be thinking of reading theology at
university in mind. However, as he explains
in his introduction, as theology is less a
‘subject’, more a ‘form of seeking’, ‘a quest’,
he rightly assessed the book’s audience
might be wider. What he has ended up
with is an accessible manual, “pointing,” as
Canon Mark Oakley puts it, “to theology
as the disciplined, human and holistic way
in which we can explore the eternal
questions that hover over every century”;
encouraging the reader to understand that
any quest to understand God is also a
quest to understand other people and
ourselves. “Theology, then,” Cherry says,
“is the discipline of asking the best
possible questions about the most
important matters. It is about coming to
the limit of your own knowledge and
insight and posing the question, ‘What is
beyond?’” If that intrigues you, you will
enjoy reading further.
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‘A Philosophy of Loneliness’
By Lars Svendsen
9781780237473
£8.99
Wherever there are people, there is
loneliness. It is a condition that can
severely impact the physical and mental
health of the sufferer and all indicators
point to the fact that it is being
experienced by more and more people in
our world today. For all our
‘connectedness’ with increased
technological scope for being in touch
with people far and wide, technology (and
other factors) are increasingly limiting the
need for daily social interaction. In this
timely volume, Svendsen draws on the
latest research in the fields of philosophy
and social science to explore different
forms of loneliness while considering what
characteristics might pre-dispose people
to them. He also considers the difference
between loneliness and solitude and asks
searching questions of globalized society.
This is a fine addition to what is a series
by the same author. Other titles which can
be ordered through us are various
“Philosophies of...” and include ‘Freedom’,
‘Fear’ and ‘Boredom’.
‘Ursa Major’
By Yves Bonnefoy
9780857423740
£13.50
“Countless voices traverse us; end-
less, almost, as the meanders of dreams or
the starry scintillations of summer nights.
Only listen, and a few words rise from the
murmur…” – the words with which
Bonnefoy introduces this collection. For
anyone unfamiliar with the work of the
late French polymath, this is an excellent
introduction to his poetic style. For those
familiar with his work, this deeply moving
sequence of prose poems is a real treat.
Exploring the mysteries of human con-
sciousness and richly illustrated by Indian
illustrator, Sunandini Banerjee, the book, in
itself, is a beautiful object while his words
offer many layers of meaning and demand
to be read again and again.
18
Forthcoming Events
‘When Grandad was a Penguin’
By Morag Hood
9781509814018
£11.99
What’s to be done when your
Grandad seems very much like a penguin?
Find out in this charming picture book
written and illustrated by Morag Hood
(daughter of Helen, who some readers of
the magazine will know from St. Mary’s
Cathedral!). With striking, colourful
lino-cut artwork, and surreal story this is a
lovely book for reading together. A ‘fish-
out-of-water’ story with a difference!
Edinburgh Brass Band 5th
Anniversary Concert
Saturday 1st April, 7.30pm
St John’s Church
Bridge Evening (in aid of the
Cornerstone Centre at St John’s)
Thursday 30 March, 6.30pm for 7pm
start
Bruntsfield Golf Club, 32 Barnton
Avenue
The cost is £80 per table (£20 per
head). Please collect booking forms from
the church office or from members of
the organising committee (Mo Grant,
Grace Durham, Vicki Reid Thomas or
Colin McEachran).
Theatre trip to 'Fiddler on the Roof' at the King's
Saturday 8 April
Our ticket allocation is sold out but Fiona McLuckie can provide details of the rows we
are in if anyone wishes to contact the theatre direct for adjacent seats.
19
Social Committee Spring Talk
‘Mindroom; no mind left behind’
Monday 1 May, 7.30pm (doors open 7pm for wine and nibbles)
St John’s Church
At least 5 children in every classroom have some kind of learning difficulty, and yet so
often children with different needs are marginalised and isolated. Mindroom describes
itself as a small Scottish charity with a big vision – to ensure that by 2020, every child and
adult with learning difficulties in this country will receive the recognition and help that
they need.
Come and hear our own Mig Coupe share her experience of working in this crucial area.
Tickets (£5) are available from members of the Social Committee during coffee from
Sunday 2 April.
Social Committee Summer Tea Party
Tuesday 30 May, 3pm
St Cuthbert’s Church Hall
Please join us for our Summer Tea Party.
There will be musical entertainment and
(as always) an excellent afternoon tea. Most
of our older members will receive a postal
invitation nearer the time; however all are
welcome and if you would like to come
please contact Fiona McLuckie on 0131
315 4718.
Creative Together Button Fair
Friday 16 and Saturday 17 June
St Andrews and St George’s West
The button fair is to raise funds for Marie
Curie Cancer Care. The group has been
busy with donations of ‘Granny’s Button
Box’ and would be happy to receive any
further donations. Sheila Waterer is the St
John’s representative on the group; take
your questions and buttons to her.
St John’s Theology Symposium 2017
Saturday 25 November
Cornerstone Centre at St John’s
This will be the only Symposium in 2017, hosted in our new Cornerstone Centre on 25
November. Details will be announced later but the joint speakers are Professor John
Swinton of Aberdeen University and Dr Medi Ann Volpe of Durham University. The subject
is the Christian understanding of the human person and both theologians are known for
their work on how disabled people and people with mental illness can teach us what it
means to be human.
20
Service with a Smile by DES “What is wrong with telling the truth with a
smile?” Desiderius Erasmus to Martin Dorp
I have been asked to clarify an
ambiguity. When I first was handed a
booklet containing the rules of Rugby
Football I was struck by the first rule:
“When the referee blows his whistle play
shall cease immediately”. There was a
footnote: “This does not apply to the start
of the match”.
So in our Service Sheets, when they
proclaim “Please join in all the words
printed in bold type” this does not refer
to the stage directions. The person who
caused an unseemly fracas by booming out
“Offertory Hymn”, “Confession and
Absolution”, “Communion Motets” and so
on was undoubtedly within the letter of
the law but outwith the hedge of common
sense.
Dear Des,
On the feast of Candlemas I attended the
evening service and was puzzled by the
symbolism. Some persons carried new candles,
some old. Some talked of the coming Lent as
a time of abstinence, others did not. We
appeared to be in the presence of New Licht
Burgers, Auld Licht Burgers, New Licht Anti-
Burgers, Auld Licht Anti-Burgers. But nothing
was said in the liturgy to make it clear to
which doctrine we subscribed. Can it be that
we subscribe to anti-sectarian ecumenism?
Yours sincerely,
Professor Gumboil.
DORP: Was that a joke? If so it will be
incomprehensible to most subscribers.
DES: You forget, my friend. “Cornerstone”
is now free. There are no subscribers.
A Message from Canon Wishwash Some of my church-going acquaintances
seem not to appreciate that Lent is a time
for the mortification of the flesh. They give
up things which are bad for them. I, on the
other hand, have bought several boxes of
chocolates for daily consumption; I have
resigned my subscription to the gymnasium;
and I have resolved to abstain from water
and have laid in a few crates of eminently
quaffable wine. I fully expect after forty days
to have reached a state of physical
inadequacy of which even Bernard of
Clairvaux would be proud.
21
St John’s
Coffee Rota
April
2nd M Currie; M Brewer
9th M Warrack; S Goode
16th S Brand; E Law
23rd E Yeo; S Jameson
30th C Legge; E Bath
May
7th V Lobban; J Taleyarkhan
14th A Usher; S Kilbey
21st G Edgar; P Walliker
28th M Currie; W Wyse
22
Sunday Readings April — May 2017
Readings for all services each week are available in the St John’s Calendar and Lectionary
2016-2017 available at Cornerstone or the shop in the North Aisle for £5.
Year A 9.30am Matins 10.30am Eucharist 6.00pm Evensong
2 April
Lent 5
Ezekiel 37.1-14
Romans 8.6-11
John 11.1-45
Isaiah 50.4-11
Luke 18.31-19.10
9 April
Palm Sunday
Zechariah 9.9-12
Gregory Palamas
Liturgy of the Palms:
Matthew 21.1-11
Liturgy of the Passion:
Isaiah 50.4-9a
Phillippians 2.5-11
Matthew 26.14-27.66 or
27.11-54
Zechariah 12.9-11; 13.1,7-9
Luke 19.29-44
16 April
Easter Day
Luke 24.1-16
John Chrysostom
Acts 10.34-43
or Jeremiah 31.1-6
Colossians 3.1-4
or Acts 10.34-43
John 20.1-18
or Matthew 28.1.10
Isaiah 51.9-11
Luke 24.13-35
or John 20.19-23
23 April
Second Sunday of Easter
John 20.19-31
Cyril of Alex.
Acts 2.14a,22-32
1 Peter 1.3-9
John 20.19-31
Exodus 13.3-10
Luke 24.13-35
30 April
Third Sunday of Easter
Luke 24.13-35
Augustine
Acts 2.14a,36-41
1 Peter 1.17-23
Luke 24.13-35
Isaiah 40.27-31
James 1.1-12
7 May
John the Evangelist, Patronal
Feast
Exodus 33.7-11a
1 John 1:1-9
John 17:20-26
Isaiah 44.1-8
1 John 5.1-13
14 May
Fifth Sunday of Easter
John 14.1-14
Ambrose
Acts 7.55-60
1 Peter 2.2-10
John 14.1-14
Isaiah 22.15-22
Acts 2.37-47
21 May
Sixth Sunday of Easter
John 14.15-21
John Chrysostom
Acts 17.22-31
1 Peter 3.13-22
John 14.15-21
Galatians 1.11-24
Galatians 2.11-21
28 May
Sunday in the Octave of the
Ascension
Luke 24.44-53
Leo the Great
Acts 1.1-11
Ephesians 1.15-23
Luke 24.44-53
1 John 5.9-13
John 17.6-19
Sunday Readings
23
General Enquiries: Office Open Monday-Friday 9.00am – 5.00pm
Tel: 0131 229 7565 Fax: 0131 229 2561
Business Manager George Fyvie 229 7565
Development Manager Kerrigan Bell 229 7565
Admin Assistant Kerri Kivlin 229 7565
Director of Music Stephen Doughty 229 7565
Flowers Anne Goodwin 337 3556
Magazine Editor Jill Duffield
[email protected] 558 3575
Postal Secretary Rosemary Denny 447 1766 [email protected]
Church Photographer Marjory Currie 337 3833 [email protected]
Vestry Markus Dünzkofer, Rector, 07962 536817 (see inside front cover)
Stephen Holmes, Associate Rector, 07584 091870 (see inside front cover)
Austin Reilly, Secretary, [email protected];
Peter Silver, Treasurer, [email protected];
Jill Duffield, Lay Rep; Alastair Dinnie;
Wren Hoskins-Abrahall; Romy Langeland;
Colin McEachran; Tony Falconer;
Eden Anderson; Grace Durham;
Barbara Graham; Mo Grant;
George Harris; Anne Pankhurst
Children & Families Mig Coupe, Olivia Donaldson, Sue McPhail, Mary Reilly
Ministry [email protected]
St John’s Terrace Cornerstone Bookshop Anna Pitt 229 3776
Vergers Ryan Dimarco, Steve McLaren
For weddings and baptisms please make contact initially with the Church Office
Useful Contacts
24
St John’s is an active city-centre church within
the Diocese of Edinburgh of the Scottish Episcopal Church,
which is part of the world-wide Anglican Communion.
We welcome people of all denominations or none,
firmly committed in faith or doubting and enquiring.
SERVICES AT ST JOHN’S
Sunday
8.00am Holy Communion
9.30am Choral Matins (not on 1st Sunday)
10.30am Sung Eucharist with activities for children
6.00pm Choral Evensong
Monday
10.30am Service for the deaf (1st Monday only)
12.30pm Eucharist
Tuesday
12.30pm Eucharist
3.30pm Silent Prayer
Wednesday
11.00am Eucharist
12.30pm Midday Prayer
Thursday
12:30pm Eucharist
Friday
12.30pm Eucharist
Church of St John the Evangelist
Princes Street, Edinburgh
EH2 4BJ
0131 229 7565
Website: www.stjohns-edinburgh.org.uk
Email: [email protected]
Scottish charity number SC012386
/churchofstjohn